History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communicationsfrom the first submarine cable of 1850 to the worldwide fiber optic network

The Commercial Cable Companyby Bill Glover

COMMERCIAL CABLE COMPANY

James Gordon Bennett, Jr.

The Commercial Cable Company was formed in 1883 by John Mackay,
a mining magnate, and James Gordon Bennett, owner of
the New York Herald (which he inherited from his father, also named James Gordon Bennett), to compete with the Western Union Atlantic service.
Six Atlantic cables were laid for the company, the first in 1884 and the
last in 1923.

The first two Atlantic cables were manufactured and
laid by Siemens Brothers in 1884 using CS Faraday (1). Cable routes and
lengths were as follows:- Dover Bay, Nova Scotia to Coney Island, New York 826 nm. Dover
Bay - Waterville, Ireland 2399 nm and a second cable over the same route
2281 nm. From Waterville one cable, 330 nm long, ran to Weston super Mare,
England, and the other, 514 nm in length, ran from Waterville to Le Havre,
France. Once these cables were in operation they took a great deal of
business away from Anglo American and Western Union.

1893 World's Fair Souvenir
Cablegram

Pinback logo button with celluloid calendar for 1898 on reverse.
Made by the Whitehead & Hoag Co., Newark NJ.

Commercial Cable Company officer's uniform button
Image courtesy of William James Hentges Collection

It was not until 1894 that a third Atlantic cable
of 2161 nm was laid; again Siemens Brothers manufactured the cable and
used CS Faraday (1) to lay it, the route being the same as that
used for the 1884 cables.

Folder for CCC Map of Paris,
undated, but the sign in the office window reads:
"Three Duplexed Cables to the United States, so the period is
1894-1900

In 1900 Siemens Brothers, again using CS Faraday (1),
laid the first part of a fourth Atlantic cable for the company from Nova
Scotia - Horta, Azores. A total of 1698 nm of cable was used in this
expedition. The second leg of the cable from Horta to Waterville was laid
in 1901 and once again the same manufacturer and cable ship was used.
The length of the cable was 1204 nm. An additional cable was laid between
Nova Scotia and New York by CS Silvertown, owned by the India Rubber,
Gutta Percha and Telegraph Works Company, who also manufactured the cable.
The Waterville - Weston super Mare cable was manufactured and laid by
the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company using CS Anglia.

The Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company
undertook the manufacture of the fifth cable in 1905 using CS Anglia
to lay the Waterville - Weston super Mare cable and the main cable across
the Atlantic with CS Colonia and CS Cambria assisted by
CS Mackay Bennett laying the Nova Scotia - New York cable.

System 6500 nm. Two cables were laid between Canada and Ireland. One was linked to the UK the other to France (See 1885 entries). In 1909 CS Mackay Bennett diverted one cable into Cuckold's Cove, near St Johns, Newfoundland, the work was completed on 14 July. In 1910 the second cable was diverted to the same place also by Mackay Bennett.

System 2161 nm. In 1926 this cable and the 1905 cable were diverted into Quidi Vidi Harbour by CS John W. Mackay

1900

Canso, Nova Scotia - Horta, Azores (Main 4)

Siemens Bros

Faraday (1)

System 1698 nm.

1900

Canso, Nova Scotia - New York (NY 4)

Siemens Bros

Silvertown

1901

Horta, Azores - Waterville, Ireland (Main 4)

Siemens Bros

Anglia

1901

Waterville, Ireland - Weston-super-Mare, England (SN 2)

Siemens Bros

Anglia

1905

Canso, Nova Scotia - Waterville, Ireland - Weston super Mare, England

Telcon

Colonia - Anglia - Cambria - Mackay Bennett

Colonia laid the Canadian end of the cable, and during the laying ran aground on Fox Island off Nova Scotia. To enable Colonia to be floated off the cable was transferred to the Mackay Bennet. Colonia then sailed to Halifax for repairs. Anglia laid the eastern end. In 1926 this cable and the 1894 cable were diverted into Quidi Vidi Harbour by CS John W. Mackay

1909

St. John's, Newfoundland - New York

Telcon

Colonia

Provided a direct link to New York for the 1884 cable diverted in 1909

1910

St. John's, Newfoundland - New York

Telcon

Colonia

Provided a direct link to New York for the 1884 cable diverted in 1910

Postcard showing the
cable station of the
Commercial
Cable Company
at
Grandview Avenue,
Far Rockaway,
Long Island, New York. Seven Atlantic cables ran into this office
from the cable
landing at Beach 16th Street.

The New York Times issue of 11 June 1911 reported that "The Lewis H. May Company has resold for Sidney J. Smith a plot of ten lots on the east side of Grandview Avenue, north of the Rue de St. Felix, Far Rockaway, to the Commercial Cable Company, which will erect a receiving station and will remove their present Atlantic cables from Coney Island to the Far Rockaway property."

In 1916 many of the street names in Far Rockaway were changed, and Grandview (sometimes given as Grand View) Avenue was renamed Beach 17th Street/Caffrey Avenue, and Rue de St. Felix was renamed Beach 14th Street/New Haven Avenue. The cable station address was then 1414 Caffrey Ave, between New Haven and Mott. The markers show the location of the cable station and the cable landing site.

According to the Rockaway Memories website, the building was sold at the end of the 1930s and was later used as a yeshiva, finally being demolished in 1985. The site is now vacant, and is planned to serve as a sitting area and entranceway to the 18th century Cornell Burial Ground at the rear of the lot, which in 1946 the Cornell Cemetery Corporation was reported as working on restoring.

The cable station site in April 2009. The house to the left of the station (visible in the 1916 postcard above) is still there, but all that remains of the station building is the low wall, the front steps, and the driveway entrance.

A cable hut was built at Cuckold’s Cove and this was in use until 1916, when a new cable office was built at 111 Water Street, St. John's. The cable was extended from the Cove by a buried cable to Quidi Vidi Lake, across the lake by submarine cable and then a final buried cable from the lake to Water Street.

In 1926 CS John W Mackay diverted the 1894 and 1905 cables into Quidi Vidi Harbour and a regenerator station was built there to boost the signal on its final leg. Like the earlier cables these two were linked to Water Street by a combination of buried cables and a cable across Quidi Vidi Lake.

The dates above are the original laying date and the date of the diversion.

Cables marked on chart at Cuckold Cove:

Main No. 1 -
1884-1909. To Waterville
Main No. 2
New York No. 1
New York No. 2

CS John W Mackay at Quidi Vidi, St John's, Newfoundland

Christmas & New Year
Greetings Telegram Form for December 1929 to January 1930.
Used to send standard messages, listed on the reverse, at reduced
rates

The Commercial Cable Company eventually became one of the constituent companies of the American Cable & Radio Corporation. The genesis of AC&R was in February 1927, when All America Cables was acquired by the International Telephone and Telegraph Company (I.T. & T., later ITT). In 1938 the division name was changed to All America Cables and Radio, and with the Commercial
Cable Company and Mackay Radio & Telegraph, all these entities became part of the American Cable and Radio Corporation, of which ITT was the major shareholder.

American
Cable & Radio Corporation stock certificate

Souvenir ashtray, American
Cable & Radio System
Image courtesy of Mark Frankena

American
Cable & Radio lighter with box
Images courtesy of Graham Mitchell

At the end of 1961 five of the above cables were still
in operation; one of the original 1884 cables was no longer in use. The
company applied to the Federal Communication Commission for permission
to abandon all five cables. This was granted, leaving the company free
of the burden of cable maintenance. By this time the American Cable &
Radio Corporation already leased one circuit in both TAT 1 and TAT 2 and
so had a greater capacity, as each telephone circuit was capable of carrying
twenty two telegraph circuits.

Around the same time operational changes were made
and from then on all telegraph circuits were leased by ITT World Communications
Inc., although the Commercial Cable Company name was still in use on stationery
and offices. The remaining cable ship, CS John W Mackay, was transferred
to the Commercial Cable (Marine) Company Ltd., finally being scrapped
in 1994.

COMMERCIAL CABLE COMPANY OF CUBA

In 1907 the Commercial Cable Company formed a subsidiary company,
the Commercial Cable Company of Cuba. The company awarded a contract to
the India Rubber, Gutta Percha and Telegraph Works Company to manufacture
and lay a cable from New York to Havana. CS Silvertown laid the
1288 nm cable. On formation, All America Cables leased this cable as their
main link between the USA and Cuba.

Deferred telegram from Toronto,
Canada to Otley, Yorkshire, UK. The message had been telephoned to
the addressee and the telegram was sent as confirmation.

At the same time as the order for the first cables
was placed with Siemens Brothers, an order was placed with John Elder
& Company, Govan, Scotland, for a cable repair ship to maintain these
cables. The vessel was launched in 1884 with the name CS Mackay-Bennett,
and was normally based at Halifax, Nova Scotia.

In September and October 1899 a series of yacht races,
known as the America's Cup, took place between the British challenger
Shamrock, owned by Sir Thomas Lipton, and the American yacht Columbia.

The owner of the New York Herald and co-owner of Commercial arranged for
Marconi to set up his wireless telegraph to report on the races. One set
of equipment was put aboard CS Mackay-Bennett and was operated
by T. Bowden, assistant telegraphist to Marconi. Another set was placed
aboard the Puerto Rico Line vessel the Ponce, but part way through
the series of races it had to be moved to the Grande Duchesse.

Marconi transmitted the signals to Bowden who in turn sent them to W.W.
Bradfield who was in the New York Herald building. From here the reports
were transmitted over the land telegraph and via Commercial's cables to
the UK.

After the Titanic disaster CS Mackay-Bennett,
at the time berthed in Halifax, was chartered to recover those who lost
their lives. Those identified as first class passengers were placed in wooden coffins which were stored aft, while third class passengers and crew were wrapped in canvas and placed for’rd. In all 328 bodies were recovered, including one child; 119 of these were buried at sea, of which 60 were unidentified, and the remaining 209 were taken to Halifax.

The ship was taken out of service in 1922 and used
as a cable storage hulk in Plymouth Sound. During WW2 she was sunk during
the blitz on Plymouth, but was refloated, and remained there until 1965
when she was towed to Ghent, Belgium, for breaking up.

Built as a replacement for CS Mackay Bennett
to carry out cable maintenance work. Sold for scrap in 1961 to Belgian
shipbreakers.

CS CABLE GUARDIAN

Built 1945 by Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd.

Length 252.00 ft. Breadth 36.4 ft. Depth 22.3 ft.
Gross tonnage 1538

One of four identical vessels built for the Royal
Navy and Admiralty Cable Service, this one originally being named CS
Bullhead. Sold to Cable & Wireless Ltd. in 1946 and renamed CS
Electra (2). After purchase the vessel was refitted and then spent
the next thirteen years in the West Indies on cable maintenance duties.
Sold to the Commercial Cable Company in 1959 and renamed CS Cable Guardian.
Sold for scrap to Scottish shipbreakers in 1964.

Other cable ships owned and operated by the company
which are described elsewhere on the site:

The Atlantic Cable website is non-commercial,
and its mission is to make available on line
as much information as possible.

You can help - if you have cable material,
old or new, please contact me. Cable samples, instruments, documents,
brochures, souvenir books, photographs,
family stories, all are valuable to
researchers and historians.

If you have any cable-related items
that you could photograph, copy,
scan, loan,
or sell, please email me: billb@ftldesign.com